Just in Time
by xox Moony xox
Summary: Sequel to ‘A Little too Late…’ Want to know what happened after that disaster of a wedding? How Harry reacts? Whether Ron and Hermione get it together or not? Well, read on…


Author's name: Heather AKA QueenC

Email: feather@udatt.zzn.com

Spoilers: All four books.

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing; J.K. Rowling is of course the wonderful woman who came up with the Harry Potter-verse.

Ships: R/Hr and plenty of, and a couple of H/H bits.

Summary: Sequel to 'A Little too Late…' Want to know what happened after that disaster of a wedding? How Harry reacts? Whether Ron and Hermione get it together or not? Well, read on…

A/N: You wanted it, you got it, the sequel (finally). It's not half as good as the original but still here it is, read it and let me know what you think!

* * * * * * *

****

It's not the chances we take. It's the choices we make, that determine our destiny.

"_'Some outstanding news has broken out in the Wizarding world, according to various sources the world famous Harry Potter has been jilted at the alter by one of his best friends, Hermione Granger,'_ jilted? I don't think so…" laughed Hermione, before taking her attention back to the newspaper article. "Oh, listen to this bit, _'rumour has it Potter is out for blood and his other best friend, Ronald Weasley, is first in the firing line. We suspect Granger has eloped with him, but we'll keep you posted.' _Pathetic, totally pathetic." She shook her head and laughed again before throwing the newspaper down onto the kitchen table.

"We could if you wanted," muttered Ron from behind his huge mug of hot chocolate.

Hermione looked at him sharply with her glittering eyes. "You're asking me to run away and marry you?"

"Why do you take everything I say seriously?" he asked then glanced down the main hallway for any signs of Weasley family activity. There was no one else about. "But as we're on the subject, would you say yes if I asked?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, then bit her lip a moment. "I know you Ron, and you are not a marriage person… OK I'm not saying never, but it'll be a long time before you're ready for it." She looked into his eyes and smiled a little. "Besides, _we're_ not dating."

"Yeah I know, 'Mione, I know." He put down the mug and looked across the table at her.

It was exactly four days since the drama had happened, and for once it had taken a while for the Daily Prophet to get hold of the story. But still things had been hard. Firstly there'd been Hermione's talk with her parents, which hadn't gone particularly well.

__

"Mum, I just don't think I love Harry," said Hermione looking at her mother with sad eyes, she bit her lip slightly then attempted a smile just before her mother exploded.

"Don't love Harry? Don't love Harry! Hermione, do you have any_ idea how much that wedding cost your father!"_

"I—"

"Near enough twenty thousand pounds young lady, and suddenly you don't love Harry." Her mother paused and shook her head, then took a breath trying to calm her temper. "And what about your friend, Ron? Harry phoned and said, you ran off with him?"

Hermione's eyes widened in shock and she brought her hand to her mouth. "He phoned you?" she asked.

"Yes, about an hour after we got home, couldn't believe it!"

"An hour…" she trailed off and took several deep breaths. "I don't believe he did that." She looked back at her mother. "I never ran off with Ron, you know that right?"

Her mother shook her head. "How am I supposed to know that, you disappeared for two days straight with no word. I mean, what? Were we meant to just sit here and pretend it hadn't happen? That my daughter hadn't ran off on the proudest day of my life… it's just inconsiderate, that's what--"

"Mum, I'm not a child, I'm twenty years old… just stop this, I'm old enough to make my own decisions. Think it over, isn't it better I realise now than end up having to go through a divorce later on?" she shouted and crossed her arms over her chest taking several more deep breaths. "I'm glad I realised," she paused a moment before adding. "Finally"

Then there had been the second visit Ron had received from Harry the following day.

__

Harry pushed the door open to Ron's apartment and stormed in for the second time in those twenty-four hours. "Ron!" he said, although it came out more like a shout. "Please don't lie to me, if you know where she is I want to know!"

"I don't know," Ron replied coolly, "if I knew I'd tell you."

"Ah," Harry raised his hand and tutted. "But would you? I mean for all I know she could be somewhere in this flat…"

"She's not," again Ron spoke calmly. "If she was I'd tell you," he repeated. "The only one who's here is Pig, and then me of course… and you at the moment obviously."

"Don't be so sarcastic."

Ron shook his head and shrugged. "Whatever Harry, listen if this whole Hermione leaving you at the alter thing is gonna be blamed on me, we should end this conversation now, 'cause I'm really not wanting to loose our friendship"

"Neither am I," Harry replied with a nod, he smiled a little.

"OK excellent, 'cause if this is just about you missing out on getting laid I don't want to know 'bout it." Laughing Ron patted him on the back. "Now go get over it and find some little slut and quit your cravings!"

Harry glared at him; wide eyed and opened mouthed. "What?"

Ron laughed then ruffled his friend's hair slightly. "Kidding Harry, I know you'd never do that."

"No," Harry said, quickly clearing his throat, "never."

"Right, never," Ron repeated with a nod. "Me on the other hand—"

"Let's leave it there mate, OK."

"It's a deal."

"Ron? Hello? Anyone in?" Hermione's face came into view and Ron blinked a couple of times. "Thank you," she continued. "Thought I'd lost you then. You're mum said we should go out for dinner, apparently Harry called and she invited him over."

"She what?" He snapped out of his thoughts long enough to hear that properly. His mum invited Harry to dinner after all that had happened? Scary, very scary. He shook his head and turned his attention to the beauty in front of him again. "What'd she do that for?"

"You definitely weren't listening to me were you?" she rolled her eyes as she asked him that.

"No," he answered simply and got up from the table, he strode past her chair and out of the kitchen towards the stairs. He heard the clatter of a chair behind him then footsteps. Hermione was following.

Ron kept up his quick pace and ran up three flights of stairs and into his old room. He looked around, nothing had changed at all, he was glad his parents hadn't handed it to one of the twins or anything. A smile spread across his face as his eyes lay upon the familiar orange and black quilt covers.

"Why are we up here, Ron?" asked Hermione from the doorway.

He turned back to face her and smiled. There was something he needed to do and it needed to be done right. "Shut the door," he said, and then watched as she did so. "Now, sit on the bed." He lowered his gaze a moment then sat down in the chair at the desk.

Hermione looked at him slightly bewildered as she lowered herself to perch awkwardly on the edge of the bed, then she fiddled with the ends of her hair nervously.

Contented with the sight of her sitting there, Ron just sat back and watched for a few minutes before taking his plan any further. After he finished his viewing he sat back further and squinted his eyes slightly as if it was too bright to see her. "Hermione?"

"Yes?" she answered suddenly and very quickly.

"I want you to say you're worried about Harry and that you love me…" he said slowly then raised his hand to his mouth as he continued to observe her.

"Umm…" She bit her lip, confusion flooding her face. "I'm worried about Harry and I love you?"

Ron raised an eyebrow feeling a little disappointed with that effort; he dropped his hand again and let it rest on his knee. "No, say it the same way you did that day…"

She smiled. "Oh…" she whispered then adjusted her posture on the bed. Her whole body suddenly relaxed as she moved to sit further back letting her hands rest behind her, supporting her weight. "Ron, I'm worried about Harry, he keeps talking about Voldemort rising to power again…" she paused letting her words sink in. "So if this is the last time I see you, I want you to know that I love you."

Ron looked her up and down a few times, taking in the expectant look gracing her features, the way the sundress she'd borrowed the other day fit her perfectly, the way her skin was so smooth and how he just wanted to touch it. Taking a deep breath, he let it out very slowly. "I love you too, Hermione," he replied.

She grinned at him brightly then whispered. "Now why didn't you just do that five months ago, tell me again, I want to know why."

He got up from the desk chair then settled himself beside her on his old bed. Hermione shuffled closer, and rested her head on his shoulder as he started to speak. "You have no idea how long I'd waited to hear those words from your mouth, then when you actually told me I was so shocked I thought I was dreaming. Or that you were joking. But my main fear was that the only reason you were saying it was because you thought you were going to die."

"In a way I was," she said and looked up locking her eyes with his. "But I did love you, don't get me wrong."

"Do you still now?" he asked letting his eyes dart from her gaze again.

"I told you I did,"

Ron looked down at his hands, which were clasped, tightly upon his lap. "But is it friend love? Or is it…" he trailed off and thought his words over carefully, "The other kind?"

"Oh, Ron…" she smiled and her eyes suddenly flooded with emotion as she reached up and let her fingertips graze his cheek lightly. She shifted her weight then moved and sat on his lap looking him straight in the eyes, unblinking. "You have to stop worrying… always thinking the worst, it really needs to stop…" Her lips pressed against his cheek a moment then she pulled back and looked at him with concern. "You're burning up," she said.

"I am?" he asked and raised his hand to his forehead.

She grabbed his hand quickly and took it away, replacing it with her own. She chewed on her lower lip as her face clouded over with concentration. "You really are hot? Do you feel hot?" she asked, as she looked him in the eyes again. "Want me to open the window and let some air in?"

"I…" Ron started to speak but he could feel a wave of dizziness coming over him. What was going on? He'd been fine five minutes again. "'Mione, get off!" he said quickly.

She got off his knee swiftly and sat next to him as he lay down on the bed. "Ron?"

"Just need to lie down," he replied then pulled the quilt around himself, his body started to shake a little as he felt coolness taking over. "I'll be OK," he muttered, his voice shaky.

Hermione moved again then found a position lying next to him underneath the covers, she wrapped her arms around him protectively and rubbed his arms a little. She looked into his eyes as she smiled and kept up the motion. "It's probably just a cold… that's all, you know what they're like… you'll be fine," she whispered reassuringly.

"Yeah…" He closed his eyes and wrapped his own arms around himself as well as hers. Hot and cold flashes the worst thing about a cold. Your head burning, your body shivering, he hated it. He nuzzled his head into the pillow trying to seek out more warmth.

"I can make you soup," she suggested and smiled brightly.

"No." He shook his head. "Just stay here with me."

"I can do that," she whispered and buried her head in his chest, surrounded happily by the warm quilt.

*

Ron soon found himself asleep (if you could even call it that), taking part in feverish dreams and tossing and turning. The dreams were painful, he'd seen Hermione die about three times, and then he'd seen Harry and Hermione get married twice, and then images of them in ten years time with six children and a dog called Bruno. Hermione had then died again screaming her love for Harry and cursing the day Ron had told her he loved her. It was then Ron woke up, sat bolt upright gasping for breath.

"Ron? Ron?" He felt Hermione's arms grasp his shoulders tightly and shake him a little. "Are you OK?"

"Bad dream," he muttered then lowered his head back to the pillow suddenly feeling a lot worse than before. He kept his eyes locked on the ceiling as images of the dreams flooded his head again. Would that really happen?

"It's OK," Hermione whispered and stroked his hair pushing it away from his forehead. "Everything's gonna be OK now, your awake, you're with me…"

__

But are you with me? He thought as his heart started to ache. It was then the twins decided to burst into the room. Ron looked over and saw their eyes widening as they came further inside.

"Fred, do you see this?" said George as he leant against the doorframe casually. "We caught 'em after a shag. Think we should tell mum?"

Fred sniggered. "I don't know, but maybe Harry'd love to be disclosed to this information!"

Hermione turned to them, letting go of Ron's shoulders, and growling a little. "Ron's sick," she declared. "You did not catch us after a shag! And you _won't_ tell Harry!"

George immediately saw this as a change to torment Ron more. "Aww poor little Ronniekins is sick?" he teased and grinned at his younger brother.

Ron snarled a little, why did they always have to tease him, he couldn't even get sick without being jeered at. It was pathetic. "Shut up George! It wouldn't be funny if you were ill! Last time you had a cold you complained that you were going to die for about two days!"

"I was only—" George began, only to be cut off.

"Then you actually faked dying to try and get mum to make you more soup." Ron shook his head. "And you make fun of me?"

"All right, all right," Fred said quickly and waved his hands around as a sign of surrender. "Anyway we only came up here to tell you that Harry's due to arrive in fifteen minutes, so you better get out of here or they'll be a showdown at noon," he paused and glanced at his watch, "Literally."

Ron sighed, he'd forgotten about that. "Yeah…" he whispered and slid from underneath the covers. Stepping onto the carpet he slowly rose to his feet and yawned a little. He raised an eyebrow as the twins shrugged and left the room, thundering back down the stairs. "Where are we going to go?" he asked glancing back at Hermione.

She was sat in exactly the same position but her eyes on the window looking outside. "Harry," she said, "I need to talk to him." She turned her head back to look at him and bit her lip gently, then lowering her gaze she started to fiddle with the corner of the quilt. "He needs an explanation… we have to stop the lies."

"True…" Another sigh escaped Ron's mouth as he walked to the door. "Do you—"

"I need to talk to him alone… without you." Hermione looked back up her eyes filled with what looked like guilt.

"'Mione…" Ron paused. There was something he had to ask her, and he'd been wanting to ever since they'd got back to his apartment on that eventful day. He cleared his throat slightly then continued. "Do you… I mean have you ever thought you've done the wrong thing? Because in reality you should be off in Hawaii or somewhere, on your Honeymoon… with Harry…" He closed his eyes, and then asked, "Do you love him?"

She stared at him blank faced as a solitary tear slid down her cheek and landed on the quilt cover.

__

Hermione smiled at Harry brightly as they walked through the park, hand-in-hand. They'd spent the entire day together doing anything and everything they felt like doing, just being together. She kissed his cheek softly then spun around so she was facing him. "I love you, Harry."

Harry smiled back at her, his green eyes glittering brightly in the bright moonlight. "And you know I love you," he replied softly then stopped walking and ran his hand through her hair, playing with the ends when he reached them. "It feels like we've been together longer than two months."

"Much longer." She nodded in agreement then stepped closer to him. A smile teetered on her lips again as she took in the scent of his cologne floating around her, closing her eyes she took a deep breath and sighed happily.

He looked at her a moment before leaning down and kissing her lips softly and letting his hand glide down the side of her body slowly until it rested on her hip. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her towards him gently, as he deepened the kiss.

Moving her arms around Harry's shoulders, Hermione pressed her body against his, returning the kiss with passion. She worked her hands into his hair slowly as she ran her tongue across his lips teasingly, he parted them slightly and she slipped her tongue into his mouth, exploring with enthusiasm.

"Herm," Harry pulled away and looked into her eyes as she opened them. "Let's leave this until later when we're alone, OK."

She frowned a little. "Boring," she said, then laughed softly.

"Right now, I want to ask you something… so just come on over here." He led her bench and gestured for her to sit, she did so, and he stayed stood in front of her as he continued. "We've been through a lot together, more than usual couples I guess." He smiled at her. "Definitely more, and that's what's special about us. So I know we can survive a lot longer, and I want us too, together."

"Harry Potter, are you proposing to me?" she asked softly, feeling her face blush a little.

Shrugging Harry put his hand into his pocket and took out a ring box, he opened it up then got down onto one knee. "Yes, and want to do this the right way… so… Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

Her eyes widened and her face broke into a grin. "Yes, Harry," she whispered.

He kept looking at her. "You will?"

"Of course I'll marry you, I love you!" She slipped off the bench and hugged him tightly, then kissed him quickly before snatching the ring bow from him and putting the ring on. "Oh, wow…" she said quietly as she took in the sight of the beautifully cut diamond glinting in the moonlight.

"I don't know Ron." Hermione replied him with a slight sigh, then got to her feet and walked past him. "Now stay here, I'll say I stopped by to see Ginny… but you have to stay here."

Ron looked at her then nodded and sat back down on his bed, suddenly not wanting to speak to her. What if she did love Harry? What if when she went downstairs she decided she'd made a terrible mistake? What if she told Harry she was sorry and decided to be with him again? He shook his head and lay back on the bed as she left the room.

*

Hermione walked down the stairs of The Burrow slowly, looking around as she went, trying as hard as possible to avoid the twins like the plague. She rounded the corner when she finally reached the bottom step and headed down the hallway and into the kitchen. Mrs Weasley was stood by the cooker, a frown etched into her features. Hermione made her way to the kitchen table and sat down, the mugs Ron and herself had been drinking from were gone. "You didn't need to wash up our mess," she said softly.

Mrs Weasley turned with a little shriek and placed her hand on her heart. "Hermione dear, you scared me."

"Sorry, I was just…" she trailed off and started playing with the salt shaker on the table. Smiling she spun it around a couple of times until it was snatched away from her, she looked up and saw Mrs Weasley looking at her questioningly. "What?"

"You were just, what?" asked Mrs Weasley as she lowered herself into the seat opposite. Her eyes locked onto Hermione and she laid her hands on the table top in front of her.

"Oh…" Hermione blushed a little and shook her head. "I came down here, because I really think I need to talk to Harry," she paused. "Where's Ginny?"

"Ginny is in the garden, George and Fred managed to talk her into helping de-gnoming," replied Mrs Weasley with a smile. "But I'm sure she'd welcome an interruption with open arms, just head outside and—"

She cut herself off as the kitchen door opened and Harry stepped inside, he stopped in his tracks and stared at the two of them. Hermione attempted to smile a little as she looked him over, his black hair was a little tousled but neater than usual, his green eyes looked duller than they normally were, their sparkle was missing. It was rather a sad thing, Hermione had always loved his eyes. After several minutes she realised she was staring and quickly lowered her gaze, wishing the salt shaker was still there.

The door creaked a little and she heard the distinct sound of it shutting and Harry walking a little further into the kitchen. "Hermione?" he asked gently.

"I'll leave you two alone," said Mrs Weasley and she swiftly got up out of her seat and walked away from the kitchen.

After following Mrs Weasley with her eyes, Hermione brought her gaze back to the opposite side of the table to find Harry sitting there, she held her breath a few seconds then let it out slowly. "Hi," she said meekly, in reply to what he'd said a few moments ago. 

Their eyes stayed fixed upon each other for a while until Harry spoke again. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she answered, trying her hardest to maintain eye contact. "Never been better."

She saw as his face saddened and he chewed on his lower lip. "That's… that's good."

"Yes."

"Hermione?" asked Harry, his voice a little more confident sounding. "What happened the other day? What went wrong?"

Her heart skipped a beat, she knew that was coming, she just hadn't expected him to ask it so soon. With her mind racing, she started to retort everything she could think of to him. "I'm sorry about what happened, I really am… I hadn't planned on leaving, it's just—" she stopped mid-sentence. It's just, what? She didn't even know what she was going to say.

"Just what?" Harry pushed, looking at her expectantly.

Taking another deep breath, she carried on. "I'm not going to lie to you anymore Harry, it isn't fair to you… or anyone else. Ron, he told me something on that day and it made me doubt what I was feeling towards you…" she trailed off as she saw Harry nod knowingly. "What?"

"I knew it was do with him!" Harry said as he looked at her and shook his head. "Lying bastard!" His eyes widened a moment then he moved to get out of his chair. "Is he here?"

"Harry, stop…" she said softly, reaching across the table and taking his hand quickly before he dashed off upstairs. "Let me finish, please." She looked at him pleadingly, and then he sat back down hesitantly. "Thank you," she whispered. "He said that he loved me and that—"

"He said that he loved you?" Harry repeated his eyes fixed on her; they were beginning to fill with anger. Any moment now he was going to bolt from the chair again, Hermione could feel it. "Oh yes," he carried on. "And you said that you loved him, it's all coming together now… did you share a passionate kiss too, or maybe you planned it all a few weeks before hand, just to see how much you could hurt me."

"Harry, I didn't—"

"Don't bother… I knew it was all too good to be true. Hermione, if you had feelings for him why did you agree to marry me in the first place?" he asked his face saddening a little.

She felt her eyes filling with tears and one made its way down her cheek slowly. "Because I loved you…"

Harry shook his head. "No you didn't…"

"I did," she insisted, looking at him as she began to cry softly.

"Hermione, you didn't… you loved him, all that time you loved him, not me. All you did was pretend I was him—"

"No," she interrupted, "I didn't, I never did that… I wouldn't…" she trailed off as her tears became too much, and she dropped her head onto the table sobbing loudly.

Harry stared at her before getting out of his chair and walking to the hallway. "_Is_ he here?" he asked quietly.

Hermione looked up again, her face tear stained and blotchy, she wiped her cheeks. "Just leave him alone, it's my fault, blame me."

"He is then?" He turned back to look at her and leant against the wall. "Isn't it about time you stopped protecting him? I think he can fight his own battles, in fact I know that he—"

"All right, I'm here, hit me if you want," Ron's voice came from behind Harry then he stepped into the kitchen. Hermione looked at him from her position at the kitchen table, mostly just hoping that Harry didn't hit him. Ron looked back at her. "'Mione, can you go upstairs please?"

"Why?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"'Cause I don't want you to hear this," he replied as he folded his arms across his chest. It was one of his macho, do what I say moments, Hermione knew not to argue.

Getting to her feet she walked past the two of them warily then went into the living room to join Mrs Weasley.

*

Ron watched Hermione leave then shut the kitchen door and looked at Harry. "OK, take your best shot," he said. "Come on Harry, I know you want to." Raising an eyebrow he smiled a little and waited for his best friend to make a move. He didn't, he just stared. "What are you waiting for?" Ron asked, stepping closer as he did so. Harry still didn't move.

"I'm not going to hit you," replied Harry eventually.

"Why not?"

"Because it's not worth it," he said. "And _you're_ not worth it."

"Fine," Ron started. "I've got some stuff I need to talk to you about then. Number one, you knew I loved her… so why, Harry? Why? Number two, do you think you're better than I am? 'Cause everyone else thinks so. Number three, why was Neville your best man? And finally number four, do you have any idea how much my sister loves you?!"

Harry stared at him dumbstruck. "What? Ginny?"

"Yes, Ginny loves you; do you want me to spell it out for you?"

"No," he replied simply. "Thanks for that information, now…" Harry glared at him then looked him up and down, before raising his fist and slamming it into Ron's face. "That's for taking Hermione from me."

Ron stared at him then raised his hand to his nose, flinching slightly; he drew it back and found blood. "You hit me!" he exclaimed as he tried to ignore the pain.

"You wanted me too. And as for you not being my best man, I never saw you, you never bothered to contact me the entire time Hermione and I were dating. Weren't exactly acting like a best friend should, were you?" Harry then walked out of the back door, saying one last thing as he left. "I'll see you around."

Staring after him a few moments, Ron bit his lip; he shuddered as he tasted blood in his mouth. He walked over to the sink and turned on the taps, letting the cold water run, as he washed his now blood-covered hands. It was a few minutes before he started the attempt to clean up his face, and without the aid of a mirror it was rather difficult. He leant forward and splashed cold water across his face, blinking away water that had gone in his eyes he looked down to see drops of blood staining the white stone sink. "Great," he muttered and wiped at it with his hand, it didn't help.

"Ron?" Hermione's voice came from behind him softly. "Are you all right?"

He took one of his hands from the sink and waved it a little, to show he was still alive and capable of moving. "I'm good," he whispered and flinched as a sharp pain shot through his cheekbones, he groaned slightly. "Or maybe not." He laughed lightly then moved his hand to his face as he stepped away from the sink. "Harry decided not to stay for lunch," he said turning back to her.

She gasped a little and walked towards him. "He hit you?"

"I deserved it," he replied then brushed past her and sat at the table, leaning his head back slightly and pinching the end of his nose. "OK, ouch."

"It's probably broken, you should let me sort that out for you… does Ginny or your mum have any cotton wool?" asked Hermione as she stood over him, watching. She crouched down a little and touched his cheek gently with her hand. He flinched again and she withdrew it. "Yeah, definitely broken. Didn't know Harry had a punch like that."

"Neither did I, if I had I wouldn't have told him to punch me."

"You _told_ him to?" she asked, voice raised. "Of all the stupid things to do, Ron. What did you do that for?"

"To make myself feel better," he said, then dropped his head to the table. "It'll never be the same again… never," he whimpered.

Hermione sighed and stroked his hair a little. "And did it make you feel better?"

"No, 'cause now I'm in bloody pain…"

"Literally," she retorted and stepped away from him. "I'll be back, and then we'll sort this out. You're nose will be back to normal before you can say broomstick." She jogged off and out of the kitchen; Ron could hear her voice in the living room. "Mrs Weasley, do you have any cotton wool or anything? Ron got himself punched."

*

Hermione rolled over onto her side and opened her eyes slowly, fluttering them in the beam of light seeping through a gap in the curtains. She moaned slightly and grabbed the corner of the quilt covering her, pulling it against herself. She smiled and moved her leg from under the cover and let it dangle off the edge, swinging back and forth, rubbing against the sheets occasionally. Letting go of the quilt with one hand she lifted it to her head and ran it through her hair. "Mmm…" she murmured and rolled onto her back once again.

She glanced to her right and looked at Ron sleeping, he had one of his hands resting across his chest, and the other was hanging over the edge of the bed. One of his eyebrows was raised a little and there was the faintest glimpse of a smile on his lips. Hermione wondered what he was dreaming about. She sat up then moved so she was on her hands and knees; she crawled closer to him and looked down upon his face. Letting her hand trail across his cheek, she frowned a little, luckily his nose was starting to get better but it would still take a while until it was fully healed.

Hermione leant down and kissed his cheek softly, then lay back down slowly and rested her head on his chest. She felt his hands move a little and before long he was stroking her hair. "Have you been awake all that time?" she asked gently and looked up at his face, smiling a little.

He looked back at her as he opened his eyes, and then stifled a yawn. "No… it was the kiss, I think I was half-awake and that just woke me up." He smiled at her. "Did you sleep OK?"

"Well," she started, then moved and rolled onto her front propping her body up with her elbows. "I slept better than I did that night you left me alone in here… we could have shared the bed, you didn't need to sleep on the sofa."

"I didn't need to no, but I had to," replied Ron. He nodded slightly then took his hands from her hair and moved, climbing out from under the covers. He stood up and walked to the window, running a hand through his hair.

Hermione watched him for a moment the moved to lay in the spot he'd been lying in. "Nice and warm," she said under her breath. She buried her head in the pillow and started to curl herself into a ball to keep in the warmth. "Come back, you don't have to go yet…"

"Got work in a little while, although I can't see them welcoming me with open arms at the Ministry this morning," he said then walked out of the room and down the corridor.

Sitting back up she looked at the bedroom door and frowned. She pushed her hair behind her ears as she shouted to him. "Why?"

The sound of running water followed then there was a muffled reply. "'Cause of the whole newspaper article."

"You're worried about a newspaper article?" she questioned then clambered to her feet and walked to the bathroom. Hermione knew stuff such as an article by Rita Skeeter didn't usually bother Ron… OK they did but not normally this much. She pushed open the bathroom door and stared at Ron, he was stood in front of her in just his boxer shorts. She cleared her throat. "Why are you?"

He stared back at her, then turned away blushing slightly, biting his lip. "I just am, OK… I'm preparing myself for the jeers and everything… it's bound to happen."

"Who cares what everyone else thinks?" she said matter-of-factly, walking closer to him. "Since when do their opinions matter to you, they never did before." She stopped straight in front of him and looked up into his eyes, her hands moving to rest on her hips.

"I work there, of course their opinions matter," Ron said shaking his head, he moved to walk past her and she blocked his way. "'Mione, I need a shower."

"It can wait."

She stepped closer still then stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Ron's with force, she let her hands rest on his chest and rubbed them up and down a little. He returned the kiss softly and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him. She trailed her hands up and to his face caressing his cheek with one, and leading the other to play with his hair, then deepened the kiss parting her lips a little. A soft moan escaped her as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and started exploring. Hermione felt and little shiver in her spine as he began to rub her lower back with his hands, she ignored it and pulled away from the kiss looking into his eyes.

"Who cares what they think?" she repeated then smiled a little before leaving the bathroom once more.

*

Four o' clock rolled around sooner than expected, and as Hermione was attempting to figure out how Ginny was going to use floo power to get into Ron's flat, he burst in through the door. She stared at him taking in how he looked, his face was ghostly white, he was shining with sweat, and he was shivering uncontrollably by the looks of things. "Ron?" she asked softly, but didn't get a chance to say anything else as he collapsed and fell to the floor heavily. Hermione ran over and crouched down. "Ron, Ron? Talk to me!" she cried and shook him lightly. "Can you hear me?" She bit her lip and stared at him. "RON!"

*

Ron opened his eyes to find Hermione staring down at him, worry clouding over her face. He blinked a few times, trying to remember where he was and what was happening. It didn't work though, he couldn't remember, the only thing that stuck out was the fact that his head was pounding and there was a slight flashing in his eyes. He groaned and rolled onto his side pulling the covers over his head, the light was too much to handle.

"Ron?" asked Hermione and he ignored for as long as he could stand. She kept saying his name over and over, it was beginning to get like a broken record. How many different ways could that girl say 'Ron'?

He turned back over and started up at her. "What?"

She frowned a little and leant down tracing his jawbone with her fingertips. "Are you OK?" Hermione looked at him seriously. "You just collapsed… do you feel all right? Do you need to go to hospital? Ron?" she repeated, after he didn't answer her. "Should I ring up St Mungo's?"

"No!" Ron glared at her. "I'm fine, seriously, I'm perfectly fine… shouldn't have gone back to work that's all." He sighed slightly and closed his eyes again. He'd known that morning he shouldn't go back to work, but that fact was that he needed to that pushed him into going.

Hermione's face instantly relaxed and she collapsed onto the bed beside him, smiling brightly. Ron kept his eyes on her face as he tried to figure out the look that her eyes were bestowing upon him, eventually he found the words to ask. "Do you want something?"

The way her eyes lit up ten times more than they already were answered that question, she definitely wanted something, and nodded her head enthusiastically. Then she moved again on the bed, leaning over him once more. "I missed you today," she said softly, "especially after what happened this morning."

Ron's mind wandered back to the kiss that morning; he'd missed her too and definitely could have done with a few more kisses like that to get him through the day. Passionate, sweet, soft, gentle, fiery, everything you could possibly think of that a kiss could be.

He looked up into her eyes and smiled, looping one of his arms around her waist he pulled her on top of him and kissed her lips tenderly. His tensed his body a little as she practically fell onto him, returning the kiss. But as soon as it had happened it was forgotten again, and they both lost themselves in the kiss. It was a blur of touching, moans, and whispering and neither of them could get enough.

But pulling away suddenly, Ron stared her in the eyes and bit his bottom lip slightly. He couldn't do this, he needed to know some information.

She stared back. "Don't stop," she whispered and leant down brushing her lips against his once more.

He pushed her away again. "Baby, just stop a minute… there's something you need to do." Gently he used his hand pushing her to lie next to him then grabbed hold of her left hand, he studied it carefully and looked over at her face. "See anything wrong with this picture?"

"Umm…" Hermione traced the fingertips of her other hand down his arm slowly. "The ring?" she asked softly.

"Got it in one," whispered Ron and he released his grip on her hand a little. "Mind if I remove it for you? Because if not, I'd say there's something _very _wrong with this picture." He kept his eyes on her face and watched as she nodded very slowly. Turning her hand over he took the engagement ring from her finger and placed it on the bedside table, and then looked back in her eyes. "No more Harry," he said.

"No more Harry," she repeated, smiling. "It's time to move on."

"I like that idea."

__

The end…

* * * * * * *

More A/N: OK I did two things in this fic I though I'd never do, I've made sacrifices, lol. The first one being a Harry and Hermione scene… *shudders* it's just wrong, and the second being getting Ron punched… I just don't believe it!


End file.
